Flores good choice for Alamo Colleges

Ruben Michael “Mike” Flores, has been chosen as chancellor of Alamo Colleges. He will be confirmed in early March.

Ruben Michael “Mike” Flores, has been chosen as chancellor of Alamo Colleges. He will be confirmed in early March.

Photo: Courtesy: Palo Alto College /Courtesy Palo Alto College

Photo: Courtesy: Palo Alto College /Courtesy Palo Alto College

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Ruben Michael “Mike” Flores, has been chosen as chancellor of Alamo Colleges. He will be confirmed in early March.

Ruben Michael “Mike” Flores, has been chosen as chancellor of Alamo Colleges. He will be confirmed in early March.

Photo: Courtesy: Palo Alto College /Courtesy Palo Alto College

Flores good choice for Alamo Colleges

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We applaud the selection of Ruben Michael “Mike” Flores as the next chancellor of the Alamo Colleges.

His résumé and work experience align well with the needs of the community college district as it faces the challenges ahead for Texas higher education.

Flores was recently announced as the lone finalist for the top executive post by the board of trustees, and comes up for a confirmation vote at the beginning of March following a state-mandated 21-day waiting period.

The current president of Palo Alto College, Flores graduated from a San Antonio public school and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He will become the first Mexican-American chancellor in the community college district’s 38-year history.

While that is a praiseworthy distinction, it is one that should not have taken this long to achieve. The college district has always maintained a high Hispanic student enrollment rate; approximately 61 percent of the Alamo Colleges 58,000 students are Hispanic.

Flores has been with the Alamo Colleges since 1999 and he held various administrative posts at Palo Alto before being named its president in 2012. His long tenure with the district will be an asset as it moves forward.

It is regrettable that the actions of the Alamo Colleges trustees in selecting a new chancellor clouded the process and even prompted a letter of concern from state Sen. José Menéndez regarding the process. It was even more troubling to find that letter given short shrift by the board. Not a good way for an elected body dependent on another for funding to behave.

We urge Flores to work with the board to establish more transparency and develop lines of communication with the public. Members of the Alamo Colleges board serve six-year terms, but those long office terms should not be interpreted to mean the tax-collecting entity can operate as a private club.

Almost 20 years ago, the district was rocked by a public corruptions scandal, and three of its board members were criminally charged. Residents of the district cannot be blamed for being leery and demanding a more open process when it comes to the tax-supported college district and the choice of who leads it.

A positive outcome does not justify a questionable process. The district needs to do better by the taxpayers.